All posts by Judie Vegh

Last night, the avant-garde cello rock group Rasputina took over the Music Box Supper Club. The group covered scientific and historical fact-based songs with topics including Saturn’s moon Titan, to the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815. Frontwoman Melora Creager’s quirky banter delighted the audience and Rasputina newcomer, Luis Mojica’s beat boxing surprisingly complemented Creager’s and Parvo’s melodic strings.

Opener Eliza Rickman enchanted the crowd with her one-woman set. Her set included multiple instruments ranging from the zither to a toy piano. Her angelic voice rang through eight songs of which included a haunting cover of “Moon River”.

Since the mid-90s, Melora Creager has been perfecting and evolving her avant-garde cello rock group Rasputina. Weaving quirky historical tales into classical influences, Rasputina has a sound all of its own. The trio comes to Cleveland August 20 to the Music Box Supper Club. Frontwoman Melora Creager took some time out before embarking on her tour in support of Rasputina’s latest album, Unknown, to speak with Blown Speakers writer, Judie Vegh. Creager discusses her secret retirement, harrowing identity theft incident, brain cleanse, and her guilty music pleasures.

You went into a self-proclaimed “secret retirement”. Why did you do this?

M: I was tired of touring the same clubs for a lot of years. I was frustrated that I hadn’t moved farther in my career. And maybe it was a mid-life crisis too because of my age, but by getting away from it and not being involved in public life at all, just to put things into perspective. I was fortunate to do it. I have a lot more gratitude that I did it.

Your new album Unknown is based on the identity theft incident that happened to you recently. How are you doing now and what was the outcome?

M: It was really damaging to me psychologically, and it made me very paranoid. My imagination, which is really strong, took over and thought of the worst. A lot of my decisions were based on fear which is never good. At the same time, there were a lot of positive, spiritual transformations. I got off the Internet 100% for a while. It improved my brain by the end. When I found out it was a woman I knew, and by knowing what had happened, I was able to get better.

When you say it improved your brain, how so?

M: There was a lot of improvement made by getting off the Internet because if someone as creative and quirky as me was regurgitating everything I saw and read on the Internet…by getting off the Internet I got my own brain back. All this real estate in my head. I used to write songs on paper just from my own thoughts as opposed to ‘Google it! Google it! Google it!’, I got done with that regurgitation.

The album is only being sold as a CD from your site, and may be coming out on vinyl too?

M: If I ever get the money together! Ha ha ha!

So it’ll never be released on digital platforms such as iTunes or Spotify. What are your feelings on these digital platforms that are so mainstream today?

M: It’s really gotten down to everyone gives their music away. Those things we listen to, Pandora and Spotify… They just don’t pay. Independent musicians used to be able to make a living but it’s almost impossible. There’s no other art business where your stuff is just taken and given away. I never signed up for Spotify or YouTube to have channels in my name. I never sold my stuff to that. And artistically, I remember what it meant to be young and be excited when something came out. The anticipation of waiting for something that you’re excited about. We’ve lost that. Everything is immediate gratification. I think appreciation of music lasts that long too. You’re over it really fast.

Magnetic Strip is offered as a digital download. Why the decision to release this only as digital release, and Unknown only as a CD?

M: I would like to not have anything digital. But I couldn’t make a living. I do have to offer and choose to offer digital. So with the album [Unknown], it’s conceptual. It’s like a prank because it gives everyone a hard time like the press who say “I need a download!” I’m like there just isn’t one. You have to wait two weeks in the mail. I’m not dying for press. I’m not dying for sales. I just want people who like it to hear the music.

The album artwork for Unknown came from one of your daughter’s dreams. How do your daughters influence your art?

M: A big part of my mid-life crisis was feeling like I’m not the artist I want to be. I’m not at the place I want to be as an artist because I’ve done such a good job as a mom. Why would a stranger value my personal life? It’s always been important to keep the child alive in me. I love children besides my own, and just that sense of free imagination has been an influence on me.

How does it feel being able to play with Carpella Parvo again? How did you two reconnect? Also, with Luis Mojica, what does be bring to Rasputina?

M: Luis is really great because he got me back into performing. He knows all my music just from playing it on piano for fun. In performing with him, I even stood up and sang without my cello. I don’t feel like I have to carry everything like a robotic soldier with my cello and my voice. There’s a lot more freedom. With Carpella, of course, we met again on the Internet. I’m no different. She’s a lovely woman who went through rough times with carpal tunnel from cello playing. A lot of that problem is psychological, and it took her a long time to get back into intense cello playing. The second she did it, she was back.

You’ll be playing at the Music Box Supper Club in Cleveland on August 20, while you’re performing, people will be eating. How does that make you feel?

M: That is difficult for performance. It’s distracting anytime there are waiters and there is clanking of dishes. I just saw the movie “Love and Mercy” about Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys. There’s a scene where he’s losing his mind and the sounds of the forks and the glasses and the chewing and he’s like “AAAAHHHHHH!”. It made him just lose it. So that might be me!

Your opening act is Eliza Rickman. What makes her unique that she can open for you and complement your music?

M: Most of our tour is with Daniel Knox of Chicago. He can’t make our Midwest run, so I asked him who he would recommend who has a simple set up and is very good. He immediately came back to me with Eliza. When I looked at her work, I liked it very, very much and thought it was totally compatible.

What are your guilty music pleasures?

M: Who did “Gotta keep ’em separated”? The Offspring! [laughing] That’s so old. That’s really, really old. I listen to a lot of classic rock radio. Carpella has commented that I am able to sing every single song that comes on the radio. I’m a human jukebox.

Melora and her group of merry string slingers play the Music Box Supper Club in Cleveland on Thursday, August 20. Tickets are $18 advance and $20 day of show. Doors at 6:00 p.m. for dinner, and the show starts promptly at 8:00 with Eliza Rickman supporting.

When p.stoops took the stage on July 19, the crowd was sparse, either they hadn’t shown up to the Grog Shop yet or they were outside having a smoke, chatting up friends. p.stoops, also known as Patrick Stoops, hopped up onto the stage, dressed down in a Nintendo Duck Hunt shirt and khaki pants, spoke a bit hesitantly into the mic “Hi, I’m p.stoops. It’s great to be here opening for Sage Francis along with Johnny La Rock & Furface.”

Without wasting another moment, p.stoops hunched over his dove into his set of head-bopping, beat-driven electronic sounds off of his 2014 release Object Permanence that began to slowly lure the outside crowd into the venue. A known record digger, p.stoops rare vinyls that sampled exotic sounds that were reminiscent of a 1950s beach cabana party or, at times, a Bollywood extravaganza. Standing on stage in his own world, p.stoops showed off his turntablist talents, effortlessly juggling beats and scratching the vinyl along with the beat. Using his midi fighter that resembled an arcade game controller, he mixed sounds that flowed together while also choosing from a smorgasbord of controllers and knobs.

By the end of his performance, a larger crowd had formed, entranced by the sounds emanating from the stage. Although he had just one more song to throw down, the beats p.stoops had packed into his 30 minute set made an impression on the audience, who cheered for just one more.

Following p.stoops was electronic DJs and music producers, Johnny La Rock & Furface (JLRFF). Accompanied by Ottawa guitarist Will Hooper, the trio also put on an impressive set that showcased songs off of their recently released EP, Splittape. A vibrant technicolor video backdrop with the “JLRFF” logo lit up the stage as Furface kicked off the set, smoothly transitioning sounds through his launchpads and samplers. Johnny La Rock began his turn with a sound byte from the Johnny Carson show, “Here’s Johnny!”, stealthily moving his hands across his turntables. As Furface and Johnny La Rock took turns controlling the beat, Will Hooper stood in the center, playing guitar which complemented the duo’s beat mixing.

As a self-made artist, show headliner Sage Francis not only books his own shows and drives from city to city, he was also at the merch table selling t-shirts and music for his “Going Through Hell” tour. This carried on to the stage where Sage Francis elicited loud cheers as he launched into his one-man set draped in his homemade costume; a Strange Famous Records flag (his own record label) and hood that made him look like a high priest about to perform a Satanic ritual. Channeling LeBron, Sage Francis also performed his own stage stunts that included clapping his hands with powder to create a smoke filled haze as he stood with arms wide open and his head facing to the ceiling. With a single Macbook on a high bar table, Francis would press play for the next beat as words flew out of his mouth mellifluously, rapping songs from his extensive discography throughout the years.

While outsiders of Cleveland think of the city as the Mistake on the Lake, or bring up reminders of the fifty year sports championship drought, those who are native to Cleveland possess a fervent pride in promoting the city for all the great things it has brought to the table over the years: Superman, Harvey Pekar, and Rock ‘n Roll. For Matthew Greenfield, the hardcore punk scene that established itself in the 1980s, and thrived throughout the 1990s and into the present plays a just as significant role in shaping the city’s history and music history. On Friday, July 24, he will premiere his full-length documentary, Destroy Cleveland to the public at the Cleveland Masonic Auditorium.

Since he was 16, the Youngstown born-and-bred filmmaker started going to shows in Cleveland, some at the now shuttered Speaks in Tongues on the city’s west side which hosted many of the underground hardcore shows featured in the documentary. “I’ve always been drawn towards aggressive, fast-paced, angry music. I started going to Cleveland hardcore shows when I was 16. I’m 32 now. The first bands I saw were 9 Shocks Terror and Gordon Solie Motherfuckers. I was strictly a fan,” said Greenfield.

Although Greenfield moved onto the warmer pastures of Austin, Texas as a freelance journalist, his interest in Cleveland and the Rust Belt music scene has not waned. A self-proclaimed huge supporter of Ohio, but from afar, his website, Rust Belt Hammer documents music from the region from hardcore, to punk rock and even, as Greenfield calls it, “weird rap from the 90s.” It was from this general interest in compiling interviews and artifacts that sparked the idea to create his first documentary. “I always liked documentaries. I was just digging for facts about Cleveland hardcore, and I figured someone should do a documentary on it,” Greenfield said. “I like to document things for my own amusement. I collect fliers, stickers, records. That definitely helps when making a documentary, so it’s nice to put it all on film.”

When it came time to start filming, Greenfield knew who to reach out to. “I have some friends from Kent, Ohio, and they had been making films already, so I proposed the idea. By that point, I had contacted some people from the scene and they liked the idea, they wanted to help out, so we sort of just went from there,” said Greenfield. With the team now consisting of Jorge Matthew Delarosa (of The Slow Mutants production company), and Colby Grimes, Greenfield set out filming Destroy Cleveland. Throughout production, Greenfield found resounding themes in the Cleveland hardcore scene that made it unique compared to other cities like Austin. “Austin is a very transient city. People aren’t necessarily from Austin, and it’s hard to pinpoint what the scene is about. The modern hardcore scene in Austin is a lot different. People are laid back and have a lot less frustration,” said Greenfield. “In Cleveland, it has this cloud over the top of it, and you can hear it in the music. People were definitely frustrated and looking for something cathartic.”

Scene Still from Destroy Cleveland

Greenfield goes on to say, “I didn’t go to a lot of shows in the 90s, but it was definitely a violent era. The music sounds violent, it wasn’t just the crowd. It was a soundtrack of violence. Whether you’re fighting to that music or fighting an inner battle, Cleveland hardcore has a unique sound; it’s darker, more metallic.” While bands like Integrity were deeply influenced by a metal influence in their art and music and have been touted as the inventors of metallic hardcore, but many bands were influenced by the industrial decay and economic struggle of the city. “I hear bands from Cleveland and whether it’s 9 Shocks Terror or Integrity, I hear the sound of industrial collapse. It makes me think of black and gray. That’s how it sounds if it could be described by colors. A lot of these guys worked in factories and played in bands. It’s a very working class, blue collar and hard-working. These things come out of the music. It’s not about flashiness or politics, Ronald Reagan, Batman or George Bush. It was more personal and about internal struggle; yourself and your surroundings.

Digging through the archives of the hardcore scene brought about some interesting, long-forgotten stories. One in particular Greenfield mentions occurred at Speak in Tongues. Although no video exists, a lone image has survived the passage of time. “It was a Boulder and Schnauzer show and these guys came on stage and started doing the Nazi salute. At least half of the Cleveland hardcore band members are Jewish. It definitely didn’t go over too well. […] It was a chaotic thing. It’s sad and comedic at the same time.”

Now that the production of Destroy Cleveland is completed and the premiere is just around the corner, Greenfield has a lot of plans. For the next year, he’s going to take time to promote Destroy Cleveland for a year, taking the documentary across seas to Europe and possibly Australia and New Zealand. Greenfield will continue to document music and culturally important artifacts from the Rust Belt region on his website, Rust Belt Hammer.

By showing his film to the world, Greenfield hopes that the Cleveland hardcore scene lives on forever. “I just think that it’s such a great and underrated, overlooked scene. It needs to be solidified in history. The music couldn’t exist anywhere else,” Greenfield says. “I want people to know about it whether it’s 3 people interested or 3 million. In 100 years people are going to be like ‘Wow this is what Cleveland hardcore was about. Look at this guy James from Ringworm and Tony Erba from 9 Shocks Terror and H 100. They had these crazy stories and lived crazy lives.’”

An after party will commence at The Foundry Concert Club with local hardcore bands Splat, cruelster, and Bad Noids at 9:30 p.m. including special reunion with the Gordon Solie Motherfuckers. Tickets are $10.00.

Elle King brought both the funk and the F-bombs at the Rock Hall’s most recent Sonic Sessions while Cleveland’s own The Commonwealth warmed up the crowd with their soulful and dynamic music talents. Check out Blown Speaker’s photo recap of the show below.